Mylohyoid

Other Terms:
Musculus mylohyoideus,
Muscle mylo-hyoïdien

Muscle parts

None

Latin name

Musculus mylohyoideus

Latin muscle parts

None

Group

Branchial arch muscle – first arch (Suprahyoid muscle)

Etymology

The English name for this muscle is the muscle of the grinder and U-shaped bone. The word mylohyoid can be divided into the Greek words myle meaning “mill-stone or grinder,” in reference to the grinding ability of the mandible, and hyoid. The term hyoid comes from its resemblance to the Greek letter upsilon (u), which is aspirated as hy. This is combined with the suffix eidos meaning “shape or form.”

Origin

Mylohyoid line of the mandible

Insertion

Anterior surface of the hyoid body and median raphe that spans from hyoid bone to the inside of the mandibular symphysis

Action

Elevates the floor of the mouth during swallowing; helps raise the hyoid bone or depress the mandible.

Nerve supply

Mandibular branch of trigeminal nerve (Cranial nerve V)

Blood supply

The sublingual artery, a branch of the lingual artery, supplies the muscle. It also receives blood from the submental artery, a branch of the facial artery, which anastomoses within the muscle with the sublingual artery and the mylohyoid branch of the inferior alveolar artery via the first part of the maxillary artery.